I attribute my achievements to my mother Jordanne Whiley on maternity, tennis and the impact of her mother on her career

By Sarah Edworthy

The pub had been reserved for a big family celebratory lunch, but today [Sunday] Jordanne Whiley will rather observe Mother’s Day from a long distance. Following LTA’s advice for wheelchair contestants to adhere to social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus crisis, the 2020 Australian Open Women’s doubles champion champion will be FaceTiming her mother from her home in South Oxford , and will sadly miss the pleasure of being with Julie in person like her mother opens the basket of favorite things that she has packed as a special display of appreciation.

“She sacrificed everything so that I could play tennis.”

People in wheelchairs know that the Whileys is a waterproof unit. My mother gave up work so she could take care of me when I was born, says Jordanne, who, like her father Keith, was born with fragile bone disease. She sacrificed everything so that I could play tennis. She took me to classes, tournaments and since Jackson was born in January 2018, she has come with me to take care of him. She is priceless.

To ensure that Jordanne rests properly in order to do her best during the tournaments, Julie stays with Jackson in a separate hotel room. When I’m in competition, I train, I warm up, I cool down, I recover and I make sure I get the right food at the right time. He loves his nanny, and that gives me peace of mind knowing that I can do it all while he is happily entertained.

First grand slam as a mom

This dynamic of long-term maternal support continues to evolve, allowing Jordanne to pursue her competitive goals in balance with a happy domestic life. Only seven weeks ago in Melbourne, she won her first Grand Slam title as a mother (in partnership with Yui Kamiji to accumulate their 10^e Slam title together) when, back in the UK, Julie had moved into Jordannes ‘home for three weeks to take care of Jacksons’ childcare.

The victory at the Australian Open was emotional on several levels. The Grand Slam triumph, beating the top seeds Diede De Groot and Aniek Van Koot of the Netherlands 6-2 6-4, keeps Jordanne on the right track towards her goal of being on the podium in singles at the Paralympic Games. But the absence of three weeks at home made him miss Jacksons’ second birthday. I’ve been away from him for a long time, and I found it really, really difficult, “she concedes.

Before going to Melbourne, she had told her trainer and fiance, Marc McCarroll, that if she was to get away from their son, she had to make it all count. Bring home his 10^e The Grand Slam trophy certainly helped to justify this decision. Similarly, little Jacksons encouraged the birthday via a video chat set up by nanny Julie. He just told me to play tennis, so that’s what I did!

Jordannes’ return to international tennis was an amazing success, despite his expectations when she resumed competition in February 2019. I had won two stones, I was unfit, I was worried about the logistics of traveling with a baby and worried about spending time away from him. It was my family’s support that got me started, she recalls. But there was an immediate change in my tennis. In the first two tournaments, I won one and finished second in the other by beating the top five players in the world and I was just hoping to finish a round!

Maternity changed Jordanne’s career

Now 27, Jordanne sees her life in tennis before and after maternity as two different careers. I was a different tennis player before. Becoming a mother has changed me so much, personally and at work. I now prefer Being responsible for a child changes your priorities and your way of thinking and perceiving the world. I am calmer, I have more respect for people, I am more kind to myself, and all of this translates into harder work on the ground. Don’t want to waste time when Im Away really helped my performance.

I attribute my achievements to my mom.

Since returning from maternity leave, she has won seven singles and eight doubles titles. I attribute my achievements to my mother, she said. She literally does everything with Jackson to allow me to train and compete. She travels from Birmingham to stay there for two nights each week. When I am competing abroad, she comes for one, two, even three weeks at a time. Without his help, I should have retired. It helps maintain balance for me as a mom who is also an athlete. I didn’t become a mom so I wouldn’t be there.

Part of this change of perspective stems from a new motivation. She was 11 weeks pregnant when she and Kamiji won their fourth double title at Wimbledon in 2017. Is she playing for herself or for her son? A mixture of the two, she says. The reason I returned after the birth of my son was to continue to pursue my life goal of being on the podium in singles at the Paralympics. This is my ultimate competition goal. But I also want Jackson to experience seeing me and other people with disabilities travel the world, compete and follow our dreams. I don’t want him to grow up hearing that tennis was something I did.

What is the next step for 2020?

The coronavirus pandemic has made these times uncertain. The tennis calendar is suspended; the fate of the Tokyo Games remains undetermined. But with the unwavering support of her mother, the goals of Jordanne Whileys 2020 are for the moment – still in place. Dealing with uncertainty is the challenge. Im a planner, an organizer. I like a timetable. I had this plan to make my tournaments, to play well. I was getting married at the end of the year, there was a hen night, a deer, a honeymoon and then I was going to see where I was in tennis because I couldn’t see myself continuing to do another four-year cycle. Now it’s about moving the Games and it gets really, really stressful.

Home pic.twitter.com/BNWCaxObFc

Jordanne Whiley MBE (@ jordannejoyce92) March 14, 2020

Mother’s Day 2020 will be a day of respite, enjoying the time spent with her toddler. Jacksons is a typical little boy, a ball of energy, and he never stops. This makes self-isolation quite difficult! But it will be nice to do fun things with him cooking and painting. He likes to help me make cakes and cookies; he likes to do all the hustle and bustle. Our house is going to overflow with sweet things, but we have a nice big trampoline in the garden so that it can burn some of this energy.